Wednesday 1st April 2026 – Wednesday 8th April 2026
Moulton College, Northampton, NN3 7RR
Our venue is Moulton College (click for more information).
The complete brochure is available here (PDF).
The timetable of the course is available here (Word Document).
The Application Form is available here (PDF).
The course will begin with registration from 4:30 pm on Wednesday 1st April and finish with lunch at 12:30 pm on Wednesday 8th April 2026. For non-residents the course will start on Thursday 2nd April at 9:15 am. Course participants must be at least grade 3 standard on both C and F instruments, one of which must be tenor or bass; ideally, we would like all course members to play bass. If you need advice please contact Jan:
moc.liamgnull@75sppe.naj or 01752 417093.
Orchestral playing has always been an important element at ERC and we will be running a main orchestra and both an advanced and intermediate chamber orchestra for the whole week.
The main orchestra this year will again be an eight-foot orchestra consisting of tenors, basses, great basses and contrabasses. A few big basses will be available to borrow as well as Yamaha f basses and comfort tenors. It will be conducted by Pam Smith and she will allocate parts based on the instruments you are bringing to the course, as listed on your application form. Please indicate if you would like to borrow an instrument. One of our set pieces will be Maute’s A Sea in the Pond scored for TTBBBBGbGbCbCb so as many big basses as possible please. There will also be some gorgeous early repertoire.
If you are bringing a big bass with you but feel you could do with some help on how to get the best of your instrument, every day at 1:45 in the Barn there will be a session specifically on greats and contras, looking at all aspects of playing them. If you have something specific which you would like help with relating to your great or contra, please feel free to come along.
For those not involved in main orchestra, Mary will be leading a consort session and Annemarie will be working on the wide intervals found in baroque solo repertoire such as Telemann fantasias. If you would like to participate in Annemarie’s class, please tick the box on the booking form and the music will be sent to you a month in advance.
The advanced chamber orchestra at ERC 26 will be conducted by Mary Tyers and will again be limited to just twelve players. If you wish to be considered for chamber, please give at least three choices of instrument from: sopranino/descant, treble, tenor, bass, great bass, contrabass/sub.
This year there will also be an intermediate chamber orchestra conducted by Annemarie Klein. This will still be one-to-a-part but with slightly more accessible repertoire than in advanced. If you wish to apply, you should be a confident player, good at sight-reading, with experience of playing in one-to-a-part groups. Again, if you wish to be considered, please give at least three choices of instrument from sopranino/descant, treble, tenor, bass, great bass, contrabass.
Each day will start with a range of classes on a particular aspect of music or recorder technique. At the beginning of our first tutti evening, the tutors will give you a few more details to make it easier to decide!
In addition to these ‘set’ groups, each day there will be a varied selection of ensembles with a wide range of musical periods and styles. Gemshorns with Janice has always been an important feature and it is often possible to borrow an instrument for the week if you would like to try for the first time. Be warned – this often leads to you bringing your own, newly-purchased gemshorn the following year!
Last year, Julie Dean led a well-attended session on the problems of continuing to play with the issue of hearing loss. This was of interest to many people and clearly needed a little more time so there is the opportunity for this on Friday afternoon. Julie’s popular zoom session on the History of Notation has also been timetabled this year.
Josef Manser will be celebrating the wealth of music written by female composers in his ensemble sessions and there will be a mixture of moderate and advanced ensembles depending on how much you would like to be challenged! Annemarie will be charting the musical journey leading to Easter Sunday and beyond with her favourite seasonal selection.
If you would like the chance to play one-to-a-part with friends, music will be provided in M14.
There will be a tutti session each evening, conducted by one of the course tutors. On the last evening there will be an informal concert, showcasing the three orchestras.
In addition to a separate application form we have also included a rough draft timetable to give you an idea of the sessions. A music list and further details will be sent out shortly before the course.
Unfortunately, due to the tight security at Moulton, it is not possible for outsiders to visit the shops during the course. The shops are solely there for the course participants.
Tutors:
The Application Form is available here (PDF).
Please note: the information in this brochure is correct at the time of printing but may be subject to alteration if circumstances change.